M People Album Collection

...continued. Ever greater success was to come with Bizarre Fruit which camped out in the British Album Chart for a staggering two and a half years and became one of the biggest selling albums of the decade. It stayed in the charts so long that their fourth album, Fresco was delayed until 1997. The wait was more than worth it, for the album took the M People sound to new heights with such classic hit songs as Fantasy Island, Angel St and Just For You. In an era characterised by either attitude or hype M People have also restored the simple virtues of honesty and entertainment to their live shows. From the early hot and sweaty club gigs to the current polished arena shows the Band have always delivered a top night out; great songs deserve great performances. Now comes this compilation of their biggest hits. But being M People, of course, they weren't satisfied only to repackage the old favourites. They insisted on adding three stunning new tracks too. If the band were given to boasting they might have called this collection "The best feel-good album in the world - ever!" They are not, and so I shall say it for them. Enjoy.

  CD 2: Bonus Live Enhanced CD 1) Search For The Hero 2) Moving On Up 3) One Night In Heaven 4) Sight For Sore Eyes CD: Taken from 'Later With Jools Holland - The M People Special'. Enhanced Section: Divided into three sections: 1) New Album Menu: - Members Only (using an Interact Member number): Secret video of 'Moving On Up' from the Jools Holland M People Special and six postcards to download. - Track Information: Track titles, chart positions and release dates. - Video: Testify music video. 2) The Band: - Download Shots: Six images of the band to download. - Interview: Eight video clips of the band answering questions from an interview. - Biography - Live Video: One minute clip of 'Sight For Sore Eyes' from the Jools Holland M People Special. 3) Back Catalogue: - Album Pack Shots: Front & back covers of each album. - Track Listings & Awards: For each album. - Video Clips: One music video clip for each album release: Northern Soul - How Can I Love You More? Elegant Slumming - One Night In Heaven Bizarre Fruit - Open Your Heart Bizarre Fruit II - Search For The Hero Fresco - Just For You

  5) Just For You 6) Colour My Life 7) Open Your Heart 8) Someday

Images From Enhanced CD:

CLICK TO ENLARGE

  The Best Of M People (Cassette) (1998) Side A 1) Testify 2) Search For The Hero 3) Moving On Up 4) Angel St 5) One Night In Heaven 6) Itchycoo Park 7) Sight For Sore Eyes 8) Just For You 9) Colour My Life Inlay: Lyrics. Information by Nigel Williamson (the same as the CD version).

  Side B 1) How Can I Love You More 2) Dreaming 3) Open Your Heart 4) Don't Look Any Further 5) Someday 6) Renaissance 7) Fantasy Island 8) What A Fool Believes

Inlay Artwork:

CLICK TO ENLARGE

  Ultimate Collection ("M People Featuring Heather Small") (2005) 1) Moving On Up 2) Search For The Hero 3) One Night In Heaven 4) Proud 5) How Can I Love You More 6) Just For You 7) Don't Look Any Further 8) Someday 9) Angel St Sticker: 'Includes PROUD the official song for the London 2012 Olympic Bid. London 2012 Candidate City.' Inlay: "Special thanks: Heather Small, Mike Pickering, Paul Heard and Shovell."

  10) Sight For Sore Eyes 11) Colour My Life 12) Excited 13) Holding On 14) Open Your Heart 15) Love Rendezvous 16) Rennaissance 17) Fantasy Island 18) Testify

Inlay artwork:

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Inlay: Information by Paul Lester, Deputy Editor, Uncut: After over a decade of beautifully sung, expertly played and sumptuously arranged music - unofficial national anthems like "Moving On Up", "Search For The Hero" and "One Night In Heaven" - it's probably safe to say that M People are the most successful soul-dance band this country has ever produced. With 20 Top 40 single chart entries, including 10 Top 10s, between 1991 and 1999, and more than 10 million sales worldwide, it's hard to think of another act in the same commercial ballpark. Not bad for a group who emerged out of northern England's underground club culture. M People were formed in 1990 by Mike Pickering: they were, literally, Mike's People. And they all had impressive CVs. Pickering had the longest track record. A mainstay of the Manchester music scene (the one-time fish factory worker had shared a flat with New Order manager Rob Gretton and booked The Smiths for their first local gig), Pickering played saxophone and sang with early-'80s indie-dance favourites Quando Quango. By the late-'80s he was a globally renowned DJ at legendary Manchester nightspot the Hacienda - "the Godfather of UK House," they called him - as well as A&R man for Factory Records, signing James and Happy Mondays. Londoners Paul Heard (bass, keyboards, programming), formerly of Working Week, who were part of the early-'80s New Jazz movement, and erstwhile plumber Andrew Lovell alias Shovell (percussion) completed the instrumental wing of M People. Then there was vocalist Heather Small. Born and raised on a west-London council estate, she apparently battled with shyness from an early age. Not that you'd guess as much from the songs on this CD. Few singers are as capable of such raw power and intense emotion as this. A fan of gospel, soul, reggae and blues growing up, Heather managed to channel a lifetime's immersion in black music into her highly distinctive, soul-baring performances with M People. The spirits of Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and Mavis Staples are rarely far away. Our fab soul four began their chart domination in 1991 with "How Can I Love You More?" while "Colour My Life", a cover of Marshall Jefferson's "Someday" and group composition "Excited" continued their run of modest success throughout 1992. But it was during the following year, with the release of a remixed "How Can I Love You More?" (Number 8), "One Night In Heaven" (Number 6), "Moving On Up" (Number 2) and a version of Dennis Edwards' '80s soul classic "Don't Look Any Further" (Number 9), that M People became a permanent fixture at the top of what they used to call the hit parade. They weren't just master craftsmen (and women) of perfect pop singles, either. Their albums were superb examples of sustained creativity. 'Northern Soul', the debut issued in 1993 whose title referenced Mike's mis-spent youth at the famous Wigan Casino, hinted at future greatness, but it was the group's second LP, 'Elegant Slumming', another 1993 release, that truly put M People on the map. Spawning numerous hit singles and peaking at Number 2, the album spent months in the charts and was one of the signature sounds of the mid-'90s. It wasn't just a commercial success. It was critically adored, too. In fact 'Elegant Slumming' became the third album to win the prestigious annual Mercury Music Prize, in the process beating Britpop faves Blur and Pulp, as well as The Prodigy and Paul Weller. Continued...